Students raises awareness of modern-day slavery

A cluster of blue tents occupied Lackawanna County Courthouse Square for 24 hours Wednesday, their banners and posters beckoning passers-by to "stand for freedom."

Students from Baptist Bible College & Seminary waited inside the tents, eager to educate the public on the issue of modern-day slavery.

"It's been really encouraging to see people stopping by," junior Rachel Mowers said. "People are curious, and they're following through on their curiosity."

Ms. Mowers and other students ran Scranton Stand, a 24-hour rally to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and support International Justice Mission, an organization that works to rescue and provide legal counsel for victims of slavery and sex-trafficking around the world.

By hour 14 of the event, more than 100 people had stopped by, signed their names, picked up coffee and wandered through the activities designed to "start a conversation" about slavery, Ms. Mowers said.

Ms. Mowers said crowds came in waves throughout the 24-hour rally - while the early afternoon settled into a lull, the early morning and lunchtime hours brought large groups of people.

"We had a guy who came at midnight and hung around until 8 a.m., just talking with us," she said.

Senior Leah Talarico worked the registration booth Wednesday, handing out informational packets. "A lot of people have been like, 'Wow, this is more complex than I thought,'â" she said.

"If people don't know about (modern-day slavery), we can't do anything to stop it," she said.

Ken Knelly, executive director of communications and marketing for the college, said the event's T-shirt booth was particularly successful. Participants spray-painted the words "We Stand With Them" on white T-shirts and hung them to dry on a clothesline.

"We've had to make three runs for paint," Mr. Knelly said Wednesday afternoon.

Cindy Borgna, a Lackawanna County employee, came to make her own T-shirt after a co-worker spotted the rally during lunch.

"We just saw a special on this," she said, an information packet peeking out of her purse. "I'm definitely more aware of it."

Contact the writer: sscinto@timesshamrock.com, @sscintoTT on Twitter

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